AltWeeklies Wire
Singer Gretchen Parlato Makes Every Gasp and Exhale Count on 'In a Dream'new
The foremost qualities of jazz vocalist Gretchen Parlato's artistry are her breathy gentleness and sensuality -- she doesn't sing so much as insinuate. Throughout her latest, she exhibits a supple, nuanced airiness that puts the disc leagues ahead of the year’s other vocal jazz recordings.
Washington City Paper |
Michael J. West |
09-10-2009 |
Reviews
Chuck's Wagon Makes Australia Safe for Alt-Countrynew
Chuck Stokes learned to love American country-rock the old fashioned way, through a Wyoming construction worker who earned extra money skinning and gutting animals.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Bill Forman |
09-10-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Polvo Returns With All the Answers on 'In Prism'new
If you only ever hear one Polvo song, make it eight-minute In Prism centerpiece "Lucia." Haunting and elegant at the start, it takes a hair-pin tempo turn around the 2:20 mark and -- voilà -- it's damn near the best foot-to-the-pedal drive song ever.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Spencer Patterson |
09-10-2009 |
Reviews
Groundation Jams on More Than Just Reggaenew
For over 10 years, frontman Harrison Stafford has led his spiritualized reggae ensemble from their earliest days in the northern California scene through a world-wide musical journey that continues to aim far.
Charleston City Paper |
T. Ballard Lesemann |
09-09-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Death-Metal Pioneers Obituary are Content to Crush Eardrums at Medium Speednew
Brothers John and Donald Tardy (vocals and drums, respectively) formed the band under the name of Xecutioner in 1985 -- they weren't old enough to vote when they recorded their songs for the Raging Death compilation, released in 1987.
East Bay Express |
Jarret Keene |
09-09-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
After DJ Nights and Day-Glo, the Band-Band Makes a Comeback in Baltimorenew
This "new" breed is influenced by groups as disparate as uncompromising postpunk band Shellac, psych-pop favorite Animal Collective, and Baltimore's own art-aggro trio Double Dagger, but they don't sound like them, or, for that matter, each other. And they're churning out a sound as exciting and unbound as early Dan Deacon-in-a-warehouse -- as un-retro as the Wham City scene, but working with the DNA of far more deeply rooted music.
Baltimore City Paper |
Michael Byrne |
09-08-2009 |
Music
The 1969 Texas International Pop Festival is History's Forgotten Festivalnew
This entire summer, pop culture has been inundated with Woodstock nostalgia. But another landmark festival happened just weeks later. While Texas International Pop Festival's attendance was quite a bit smaller than Woodstock's, it was still a lot of folks, perhaps the largest public gathering in the state to date.
Houston Press |
Chris Gray |
09-08-2009 |
Music
Prozac Enemas: A rare chat with Weennew
Despite last year's joyous release of an incredible live show from 1992 (Live at The Cat’s Cradle, 1992), all those early years when Ween consisted of Dean and Gene -- two young, talented and hilarious Pennsylvania kids -- and a drum machine seem like ancient history.
Weekly Alibi |
Adam Perry |
09-08-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Ween
Franz Ferdinand Fires Backnew
As matches made in heaven go, Franz Ferdinand and Green Day are nowhere near the top of the list.
The Georgia Straight |
Mike Usinger |
09-04-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Band of Skulls Gets Stripped Down to the Bonenew
For the members of England's Band of Skulls, finding their unique collective voice was a question of trust.
The Georgia Straight |
Mike Usinger |
09-04-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Anders Parker on His New Digs, Albumnew
The singer/songwriter dishes on his move to Burlington and the unusual creative process behind Skyscraper.
Seven Days |
Dan Bolles |
09-04-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Skyscraper, Anders Parker
Vanila Ice: Keepin' It Surrealnew
Vanilla Ice talks about reality TV, his new record and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Las Vegas Weekly |
April Corbin |
09-04-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Busdriver's Rapid-fire Raps Take Aim at Pretty Much Everyonenew
Too intelligent and inventive to resort to Weird Al Yankovic parody, Busdriver's more inclined toward irony and derision, along with wicked wordplay and a healthy dose of self-awareness.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Bill Forman |
09-03-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Elephant 6's The Circulatory System Returnsnew
Talking to Will Cullen Hart is like talking to a tape collage. It is sometimes hard to sort out what is medication, what is self-medication, what is Hart, what is something else.
INDY Week |
Jesse Jarnow |
09-03-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Secret Life of Cass McCombsnew
A whispered recluse content in the shadows, McCombs doesn't want to talk about himself. Ever. The roving folk singer politely requests that listeners focus less on his (alleged) prickly persona and more on his craft.
The Portland Mercury |
Ezra Ace Caraeff |
09-03-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Catacombs, Cass McCombs
